12 Retirement Investment Factors That Are Frequently Overlooked

My Comments: They say money is the root of all evil. While that may be a fundamental truth, it’s also true that in our 21st Century society, having moremoney is better than having less money.

As I develop my online course focused on helping people achieve a successful retirement, the idea behind having more money when you retire depends to a large degree on making good investment decisions along the way.

Here are 12 ideas that might help you make better decisions about your money than you are making right now.

Mar 6, 2018 Forbes Finance Council

Preparing for retirement is a lifetime process. Your clients are constantly wondering if there will be enough money to survive, and it is up to you to ensure their investments earn in a way that they are happy with. You need to stay abreast of the trends, tips and long-term investment options that can help them achieve their financial goals.

With many people worried they will not have enough money saved for retirement, it is your job as a financial professional to calm their fears and help them put their money where it makes the most sense. But, are you really aware of all the aspects that affect their ability to save enough for retirement?

To answer this question, 12 members of Forbes Finance Council share the one facet of retirement investing that is most often overlooked. Here is what they had to say:

1. Risk Mitigation
Target retirement funds are a great option, as they automatically adjust risk based on age and relative distance to retirement age. Employees often use the risk assessment tool when establishing their employer-sponsored 401(k) plan but fail to maintain these settings. This poses a risk to both account rebalancing and age-risk correlation. – Collin Greene, ShipHawk

2. Purpose
Research shows that those who don’t have a purpose in life tend to have poorer health. This means that, despite a good investment portfolio, if there isn’t a life plan to go along with it, you will be rich but depressed. Make sure life planning is done in conjunction with investment planning. – Darryl Lyons, PAX Financial Group LLC

3. Life Expectancy
People underestimate how long retirement can last, and with advances in medicine and science, the “problems” from living longer are only getting worse. If you retire at age 65, you may have about a 25% chance of living past age 90, for instance. That’s why I often advise clients to invest as if they’ll live to be 100. Your plan should be conservative and make similar assumptions. – Elle Kaplan, LexION Capital

4. Behavioral Finance
The 2017 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences was awarded to Richard Thaler, the father of behavioral finance. Having clients understand the emotions and psychology of money can be the determining factor in success or failure when it comes to investing. Many investors act under the influence of behavioral biases, often leading to less than optimal decisions. Teach clients how to correct these actions. – Lance Scott, Bay Harbor Wealth Management

5. Annual Portfolio Rebalancing
During the year, some assets will outperform others, and an annual rebalance of the portfolio should occur. This allows the investor to take profits from the investments that did very well and invest the proceeds in investments that did not perform. This process reaffirms the mantra “buy low, sell high,” and will help you grow your retirement portfolio over the long term. – Alexander Koury, Values Quest

6. Safe Money Options
Fixed annuities have caps that limit growth, but the trade-off is safety. Diversifying with fixed annuities provides a way to accumulate savings with peace of mind that your hard-earned money is safe from a market correction. Yes, it takes longer, and yes, the market could outperform it, but at the end of the day, you need to know there are safe retirement options with guarantees. – Drew Gurley, Redbird Advisors

7. Inflation
A 1% rise in inflation barely shutters an eye in one year. If this continues for the next 20 years, when you may have planned for $60,000 per year for your retirement, your purchasing power will have declined to the equivalent of $49,000. And, that is assuming inflation doesn’t rise to more than 1%. Taking this into consideration, saving more than you need to live off becomes a necessity. – Stacy Francis, Francis Financial, Inc.

8. Aging In Place
Studies have shown that 83% of retirees wish to stay in their own homes. A much smaller number consider using their home equity as a source of income. There are many ways to tap into wealth accrued through home ownership. Some of these include home equity loans, reverse mortgages and sale-leasebacks (typically to a family member or heir). Consider leveraging home equity to age in place. – Ismael Wrixen, FE International

9. Medical Expenses
Inevitably, no matter their economic background or their age, very few of the people I speak with think about the medical circumstances they are going to face. That’s why I am such a proponent of a Health Savings Account (HSA). It is like a quasi-retirement account that we can put money in and use going forward until we start to retire. – Justin Goodbread, Heritage Investors

10. The IRA Account
I’m a big fan of the individual retirement account, or IRA, but it’s an obvious way of saving that often gets overlooked. Many working adults make contributions to their IRA, but they don’t think about how it will see them through retirement. IRAs give you more flexibility than the 401(k) you can get at work. You’ll have the opportunity to diversify with CDs, annuities, stocks and bonds. – Shane Hurley, RedFynn Technologies

11. Diversification
People often overlook diversification; as a result, their investments are subject to unnecessary risk. Many believe they are diversified because they invest in mutual funds, but the truth is they are investing in a single asset class: equities. True diversification can be achieved only with truly self-directed IRA, which allows investments in alternative assets, such as real estate or private lending. – Dmitriy Fomichenko, Sense Financial Services LLC

12. Market Crash
Everyone plans on positive returns in their retirement portfolios, but what will you do when the market crashes and a large chunk of your money disappears? You need to plan for this inevitability and have a strategy on how to bounce back. Without a strategy, you might be inclined to make decisions based on fear rather than sound investment advice. – Vlad Rusz, Vlad Corp. USA